Cyriöd the Undesirable
Cyriöd, more commonly known as The Undesirable Ruler, was the fifth Paramount King of the ael'ùvah. He was known for being a very greedy and power-hungry ruler and took much money from the Gil-Navarién economy and gave it to himself and his nobles. He reversed many of the economic policies but in place by his grandfather, Cuäré. As a result, he was very popular with his nobles but hated by the poor. He was also noted for his harsh treatment of the Thiëtist and outlawed them to Fomír. He increased the foothold his kingdom had in Gil-Navarié and was the first Paramount King to control all of the island. He sought to expand his kingdom through any possible means, even if that meant making himself unpopular. His lack of charisma was the death of him, as an assassin sneaked into his room one night and slew him. Names and Titles Cyriöd's most famous title was the Undesirable. He was known as a petty, greedy ruler and was hated by all, other than those in his nobility. He was also known as the Banker for taking money from his country and spending it on lavish feasts. Especially in his later life, he was called the Fat or the Lard Master by his enemies. Appearance Cyriöd was described as being a very fat man, something unsightly and rare for an elf. He had greasy, black hair and dim green eyes. He was quite small for an elf, standing at a height of only 5' 10". He had a very basic understanding of creating illusion and could make himself appear to be of an average weight and height. History Early Life Cyriöd was born the son of Cuäroëd and Sariäh. His father feared that his son would witness the same fate that Cuäré, Cyriöd's grandfather, had when he was a child and so kept Cyriöd inside the palace for most of his childhood, only letting him outside when he was supervised. Cyriöd did not break his legs irrepairably like his grandfather had, but he was not able to socialise with those that lived outside the palace, due to his sheltered life. He viewed the rich, lavish lifestyle of his family as normal and was unaware of the plight of the poor that lived just a few hundred metres away. Cyriöd met and married Siyah, the daughter of a noble. Siyah's father had died of an illness and so Siyah was sent to live in Gil-Navarié. Siyah did not particularly like Cyriöd, but as he was the son of the Paramount King, she felt forced to marry him. Siyah soon gave birth to Cyrathù. Time as Paramount King Cuäroëd stepped down as Paramount King a century after Cyrathù was born. Cyriöd became the ruler of Gil-Navarié. Cyriöd's first actions were to invade the town states that had sprouted up during his fathers reign. He attacked and captured Gíl expanding the power of his kingdom. He then forced Físros and Sadré into submission through economic and political dominance, furthering his power as ruler. A notable thing that he did was remove the policies put in place by Cuäré. This made him very unpopular with the poor but it allowed the Paramount Kings to regain popularity with the nobles. Cyriöd used all the money saved by reversing Cuäré's ideas to finance his large feasts and his expensive lifestyle. It was around this time that Siëdolicé was born. The Rise of Thiëtism A few decades after the birth of Cyriöd's youngest son, the Thiëtist movement began in Gil-Navarié. The movement spread like wildfire throughout the island. Significant Thiëtist populations were to be found in the city of Gil-Navarié, Gil-Gotham and Gíl. At first, Cyriöd attempted to combat Thiët, the head of the movement, by calling his ideas ''vo gibùsel iyévë idiöd. ''He managed to reduce the growth of the religion by half and converted many of Thiët's existing followers through programmes dedicated to destroying Thiët's credibility. Nevertheless, his movement remained a key religion in Gil-Navarié. Exile of the Thiëtists A few decades after introducing these programmes, Cyriöd thought that things were going well for him. Disaster struck unexpectedly when Cyrathù joined the Thiëtist movement. This encouraged many to convert to Thiëtism in their droves and Cyriöd was forced by his nobles to act. Outraged by his son's betrayal, Cyriöd denounced his son and exiled the Thiëtists to Fomír. The exile was violent. Thiëtists were dragged out of their homes in the middle of the night. Their possessions were burned and their houses were repossessed. Many nobles killed the Thiëtists outright. Those that were not killed were forced onto crowded boats and were made to sail to Fomír. Disease was rampant on the boats and thousands died on the way there. Later Life Cyriöd's rule was unhindered. With the biggest threat to his leadership gone, Cyriöd continued to throw great banquets for his nobles and continued to increase taxes for the poor. He completely got rid of the grain dole for the peasants and forced them out of farms and into small crofts. Cyriöd continued to grow fatter and fatter and began to drink alcohol in very large quantities. It is said that he was assassinated, however, accounts say that the assassin burst into the room and found that Cyriöd had died of liver failure, caused by alcoholism. Personality Cyriöd was very petty and very greedy. This was reflected in many of his governmental policies. He went to war with many town states to reinforce and increase his power and leadership. Despite his apparent strength as a ruler, Cyriöd was bullied by his nobles many times. Most of his actions were due to his nobles instructing him to do things. He absolutely despised the Thiëtists and saw them as a threat to his rule. He did not require much persuasion to go to exile them. He turned a blind eye when many of his nobles began to slay them. Views on his nobles Cyriöd was very subservient towards his nobles. He readily obeyed them, commonly without question. He liked to think that he ran his country when, in fact, it was his nobles. His nobles allowed him to stay in power only because he helped to restore the power that they had lost under the rule of Cuäré. Cyriöd commonly held feasts and invited his favourite nobles to them. Views on the poor Cyriöd lived a sheltered life in his early years. His father was unwillingly to let him outside and only did when Cyriöd was supervised. As a result, Cyriöd knew nothing of the plight of the poor that lived quite near to the palace he lived in. When he became ruler, Cyriöd wondered why the poor received so many benefits and assistance while the nobles did not. He stripped the poor of their large farms and grain dole. He also overturned the tax abolishment on those earning under a certain amount. In addition to this, he decreased the amount of tax that his nobles were required to pay. This earned him hatred amongst the poor. In his later years, he would introduce programmes of indoctrination amongst the poor, to make them believe that he was actually a just and noble ruler. His programmes were introduced to late, however, and he was slain by an assassin. Cyriöd passing was not mourned and the vast majority of the citizens of Gil-Navarié where eager to see Siëdolicé promoted to the rank of Paramount King. Views on Thiëtism Cyriöd found Thiët and his movement to be execrable. He found the idea that someone who was not him had been visited by Lokve outrageous. Originally, his reaction was to make Thiët look like an idiot in front of his supporters. When his son joined the movement, Cyriöd was compelled by his nobles to act swiftly. He exiled the Thiëtist to Fomír and earned their hatred. Weapons and Armour Cyriöd was a fan of great and expensive armours. Throughout his rule, he changed his armour and his weapons frequently, despite the fact that he rarely rode into battle with his armies. When he did so, it was only if he could be sure that victory was a certainty. He had a great love of golden and silver armour. Golíäthi Armùri Despite changing his armour and weapons constantly, Cyriöd adored his ''golíäthi armùri, ''a set of armour with golden scales. The armour was a gift to Cyriöd from his nobles. Cyriöd commonly wore it at noble function and was very proud of it. It was forged by a great smith at the time of Cuëníevé. Abilities Cyriöd was a very talentless man. He was not skilled with swords or bows. He had a very basic understanding of magic. Humorously, many historians have said that Cyriöd's only skills were being widely hated by the poor and being a servant to his own nobles. Less critically, some had asserted that he was good with financing and that his nickname ''the Banker ''was actually well-deserved. Despite his skill in economics, he commonly spent a lot of his country's wealth on himself and his nobles, though some point out that he must have had some skill with balancing finances if he managed to keep his country afloat after his numerous banquets and feasts. Some also say that he was a good general and tactitian, winning all of his military campaigns. He was also very successful with his numerous indoctrination campaigns, converting many Thiëtist to the ael'ùvahian religion. Trivia Category:People Category:Rulers Category:List of Paramount Kings Category:Famous Elves